Derry City's captain and talisman, Duffy, has endured a difficult couple of months with injury and watched his hometown club struggle for form. Falling attendances and calls for manager Tiernan Lynch to resign were further compounded by a 2-1 loss against Dundalk before the break which stretched the winless run to seven games. It's been a horrendous first half of the season given the investment and talent in the squad and the pre-season expectations. Duffy is fully aware that performances simply haven't been good enough but he's urged everyone to 'stick together' going into an 'exciting' few months for the Brandywell club. Being successful in the league and the cup were two of our main goals this year, said Duffy who returned from a short break in Spain on Wednesday. With Derry handed a home tie against Tolka Rovers in the FAI Cup second round and the UEFA Europa League draw on the horizon, there's still lots to play for in the second part of the season. There's no beating around it, the position we're in now in the league, it's not been a good first half of the season in any way. We reset and come back ready to put it right when we get back together. We have many things to look forward to. The main thing still is to regroup and go on a run in the league. We also have the cup run, which is massive. There are only five games to win to get to the Aviva and that's a special day - one of the best of the year. And we have the excitement of the European draw which is happening very soon to see where we get. That's exciting for the fans as well who get a trip away. So we're just hoping when we come back we can put things right and go on a run. I know our form hasn't been great, but I still do believe that we can go and do that. Derry is currently 10 points behind third-placed St. Pat's but Duffy hasn't given up hope of competing for those European places. There's still so much football to be played and you can't rule anything out. But the position we're in now, we really need to take it game by game and try our best to go on a run. We have the belief but it's just a matter of going and doing it. Anything can happen in this league. You've seen that over the last couple of years. If you can go on a good charge of wins then anything can happen with the league table, it's so tight. We know we need to be so, so much better in every aspect of it. You have to just put your head down and try to fight through it and stick together. As a homegrown player, Duffy is desperate to win the league title with Derry City, so this season which promised so much has been difficult to take. It has been tough, especially when you really want to be successful here and win. Especially the position we're in, it can be very tough and it's not nice after losses. I can't wait for the next game. I obviously needed the break but now that I'm back I've a couple of sessions to do and then I can look forward to next Friday night's game and the second half of the season. We've got the cup run, we've got Europe and the return to the Brandywell. I have all that in my head and I know all the rest of the players will be looking forward to it. It's just about getting that belief around the squad that we can turn things around.